Tunis

It’s February…….that means it is time to escape the cold and rain of my hometown London for a short break to somewhere (supposedly) warmer and sunnier. This blog will cover my trip around Tunisia. My flight arrived in the evening and after the usual formalities I reached my guest house at ten, and went straight to bed.

The next day I had breakfast and my host showed me around his property. It was a huge place, formed by connecting two already large houses, with period furnishings from the 1920s and several roof terraces on different levels looking out over Tunis. The current owners’ ancestors featured in some of the many pictures on the walls; they came from a long line of prominent Tunisians, one of whom had even been the Bey (prince) of Tunis.

My sightseeing started with the very oldest attraction in Tunis, the ancient site of Carthage, a major military and naval power that battled with Rome for dominance of the Mediterranean over 264 to 146 BC. Rome eventually won these wars and added the north coast of Africa to its empire. The original city of Carthage was largely destroyed and replaced with Roman buildings. My first stop was the Baths of Antoninus, dating from 145-162 AD, the biggest baths complex outside of Rome.

Next, I headed to a nearby site, where the remains of several Roman villas were spread over a pleasantly green hillside, with many wild flowers – including jasmine and rosemary. Even after nearly 2,000 years, the ruins gave a vivid impression of how rich some of the Roman settlers were.

The remains of Carthage are a bit unlike most other old archaeological sites I had visited before. They were quite spread out over an affluent suburb of modern Tunis, requiring quite a lot of walking to get from one set of ruins to the next. Some of the modern houses I passed had borrowed parts of the ancient city……

The final site I visited in Carthage was one of the oldest – the Punic naval port. A model showed what this once looked like under the Carthaginians – a huge complex that could house 220 warships and which was built on an island. The model looked like it could have been a set for the “Game of Thrones”. The Romans destroyed their enemy’s naval base and replaced it with a temple, the remains of which survive to this day.

From Carthage I headed to the cute seaside port of Sidi Bou Said, with its colourful blue and white buildings. I visited a wonderful old 18^th century house, furnished to show how (rich) people lived in that century.

I ended my visit over a glass of mint tea in the house’s courtyard.

The rest of the port of Sidi Bou Said was also pretty, with magnificent views across the bay of Tunis towards the mountains in the south.

During my exploration the weather changed, and it became cloudy, windy and cold – much like London had been when I left it. I enjoyed another mint tea in a café before heading back to my opulent room in my guest house to warm up.